“The manufacture in England has been carried on so far by great labour, and at a large expense; it is in many points to the full as good as the Dresden, and the late Duke of Orleans told Colonel York that the metal or earth had been tried in his furnace, and was found to be the best made in Europe. It is now daily improving, and already employs at least one hundred hands, of which is a nursery of thirty lads, taken from the parishes and charity schools, and bred to designing and painting—arts very much wanted here, and which are of the greatest use in our silk and printed linen manufactures.
“Besides the advantage great honour accrues to the nation, from the progress made in so fine an art, without any of those aids by which it has been set on foot and supported abroad; nor has there even been any application for new laws or prohibitions in its favour, which has been a rule in every country upon the establishment of new manufactures.
“The execution of the laws which have all along been in force, and which can give no offence to anybody, it is apprehended will answer the purpose; all that is therefore requested is, that the Commissioners of the Customs may be cautioned with regard to the admission of this ware under the pretence of private use, and that the public sale of it may not be permitted any more than that of other prohibited goods. A few examples of seizures would put a stop to this, and which cannot be difficult, as all Dresden china has a sure mark to distinguish it by; but if this commerce is permitted to go on, the match between a crowned head and private people must be very unequal, and the possessors of the foreign manufactures will at any time, by the sacrifice of a few thousand pounds, have it in their power to ruin any undertaking of this kind here.
“This must be the case at present with the Chelsea manufacture, unless the administration will be pleased to interpose, and enjoin, in the proper place, a strict attention to the execution of the laws; for if, while the manufacture is filled with ware, these public sales of, and the several shops furnished with, what is prohibited, are to take off the ready money which should enable the manufacturer to go on, it must come to a stop, to the public detriment, and the ruin of the undertaker, as well as great loss to those who have engaged in his support.”
Who the “undertaker” of the works here referred to was, is not stated in the document, which, according to Mr. Franks, bears internal evidence of having been written after 1752 and before 1759. Whether the Customs acceded to his views or not does not appear; but certain it is that, despite the abuse of import privilege enjoyed by cabinet ministers and others, he was, by his own showing, carrying on a very extensive business, selling £3,500 worth of goods in one winter, and employing more than a hundred hands, including a nursery of about thirty lads, who were learning the arts of potting and painting.
In 1754 the following advertisement, which is most important as showing the class of goods then made at Chelsea, appeared in the Public Advertiser of December 17th:—
“To be sold by auction, by Mr. Ford, at his Great Room, in St. James’s, Hay-Market, this and four following days. All the entire stock of Chelsea porcelain toys, brought from the proprietor’s warehouse in Pall Mall; consisting of snuff-boxes, smelling-bottles, and trinkets for watches (mounted in gold and unmounted) in various beautiful shapes, of an elegant design, and curiously painted in enamel, a large parcell of knife-hafts, &c. The said stock may be viewed till the time of sale, which will begin each day at half an hour after eleven o’clock. Note.—Most of the above things are in lots suitable for jewellers, goldsmiths, toyshops, china-shops, cutlers, and workmen in those branches of business. Catalogues may be had at Mr. Ford’s, at sixpence each, which will be allowed to those who are purchasers.”
In Mr. Franks’s possession, and in other collections, examples of these “toys” are preserved. Mr. Franks has a smelling-bottle in form of a group, being a boy seated and writing a letter, while a girl looks on: the letter is inscribed, “Fe: 1759, This is.” In that year a Mr. Hughes, an ironmonger in Pall Mall, in his advertisement of May 2nd—
“Begs leave to inform the nobility, gentry, and others, that he has a greater choice of the Chelsea Porcelain than any dealer in London, both useful and ornamental; and as they were bought cheap can be sold more reasonable than they can be made at the manufactory. He has compleat services of plates and dishes, tureens, sauce-boats, &c., which no one else has; several elegant epargnes for desarts, and one beautiful one bought at the last sale; several figures and greatest choice of branches with the best flowers, such as were on the chandelier at the last sale; and upwards of three thousand of those flowers to be sold by themselves, so that ladies or gentlemen may make use of them in grottos, branches, epargnes, flower-pots, &c., agreeable to their own taste.”
After much research I find that Mr. Spremont continued the works until 1768 or 1769, when he retired, principally through ill health,[58] after having amassed a comfortable fortune; his ledgers dating from 1759 to 1768. During the time of his carrying on the establishment the works were very flourishing—indeed, it was said that “the china was in such repute as to be sold by auction; and as a set was purchased as soon as baked, dealers were surrounding the doors for that purpose.”